Police said he responded to a shout for assistance from the elderly woman after a man snatched her bag around 12:30pm on the Sandown Road, in east Belfast. A post on the PSNi facebook page said: "Our hero gave chase to the suspect and confronted him managing to save the bag and its valuable contents, unfortunately the suspect made off and we would like to appeal for witnesses to contact us at Strandtown PSNI on 101." The suspect is described as being aged in his 40s, 5ft 6 in height, medium build, grey hair and wearing a black jacket and grey t-shirt. Police added: "Please help us locate this individual and bring him to account for his actions."